Aug. 29, 2014

Electric Bacteria Form Nanowires, Shoot Out Electrons

Our bodies create energy by stealing electrons from food and transferring them to oxygen, which is what we need to breathe. But certain bacteria have figured out how to thrive in the absence of oxygen. They form tiny nanowires with their bodies, through which they dump their electrons onto rocks and other surfaces—creating, essentially, “breathing” rocks. USC's Moh El-Naggar says engineers are now plugging those bacterial nanowires into fuel cells.